Delta Dental Strategic Priority: Senior Oral Health Care

Addressing the senior oral health crisis

Improving the oral health and wellness of older adults is a priority for Delta Dental. Learn more about how we’re taking action to help provide access to quality oral health care for seniors.

Why focus on oral health for seniors?

With oral health intricately linked to heart, brain and mental health, it's critical to address the unique challenges seniors face in accessing proper dental care. According to U.S. Census data, one in five Americans will be age 65 or older by 2030. Our Senior Oral Health Survey Report found that 72% of Americans aged 50 and older wish they had taken better care of their teeth in their younger years, yet many still face significant challenges in accessing oral health care — particularly those in underserved communities. Our strategic partnership approach seeks to bridge these gaps, emphasizing oral health education and care, and driving lasting policy changes to address this crisis.

The senior oral health program: a model for strategic partnerships

The Senior Oral Health Partnership addresses the senior oral health care crisis by investing in strategic community partnerships aimed at improving access to oral care for all seniors, regardless of circumstance. Our multifaceted approach aspires to improve the health of our aging population, particularly those in marginalized communities. By funding and fostering collaborations with community partners, including clinics, senior-serving organizations and others, the program supports the development of innovative approaches and is paving the way for a scalable Senior Oral Health Model. The program is an integral part of achieving our goal of improving the lives of more than 1 million seniors through quality oral health care by 2030.

Learn more about our approach, achievements and learnings from the first year of implementation in our Senior Oral Health Annual Report.

Our senior oral health partnerships

The Delta Dental Community Care Foundation is investing in five-year, community-based partnerships throughout our enterprise to improve access to oral health care for older adults. Each partnership aims to help provide quality outcomes, improve accessibility and create greater equity in the care and treatment older adults receive. Insights collected throughout the program will be utilized to identify effective solutions and inform the Delta Dental Senior Oral Health Model, which will be replicated as the program develops.

Washington, D.C.

Howard University is one of the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The College of Dentistry was founded in 1881 and is the country’s fifth oldest dental school. The College has trained thousands of dental professionals who serve communities around the world.
For more than 30 years, Mary’s Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center, has been serving people of all ages, incomes and backgrounds from the Washington, D.C. metro area.

Santa Cruz

Dientes Community Dental Care works to ensure that cost, insurance, income, race, language and transportation do not prevent people from visiting the dentist in Santa Cruz County.
Salud Para La Gente serves as a “health home” and provides high-quality, comprehensive and cost-effective health care to its community members in Santa Cruz and North Monterey Counties.

Dientes Community Dental Care works to ensure that cost, insurance, income, race, language and transportation do not prevent people from visiting the dentist in Santa Cruz County.
Salud Para La Gente serves as a “health home” and provides high-quality, comprehensive and cost-effective health care to its community members in Santa Cruz and North Monterey Counties.

San Diego

Health Quality Partners is a nonprofit dedicated to advancing health equity in Southern California communities and supports research, resource development and implementation of programs with a consortium of clinical and non-clinical partners across the region. The organizations participating in the Senior Oral Health Partnership include Federally Qualified Health Centers: Community Health Systems, Inc., Imperial Beach Community Clinic, Indian Health Council, Neighborhood Healthcare, San Ysidro Health, Father Joe’s Villages and Vista Community Clinic, as well as the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, Medical Care Services.

Mississippi Delta

These four partners – Delta Health Center, which is a historic Federally Qualified Health Center, Delta Health System, the Mississippi State Office of Oral Health and Bolivar County Council on Aging, Inc. – have a long history of collaboration. All are committed to serving vulnerable seniors in the Mississippi Delta and reducing the oral health disparities that are prevalent in the region.

Goals of the program

Each partnership is built on a shared commitment to common goals, aiming to establish a replicable model for community-driven oral health solutions:

Expand access to oral care for seniors: Significantly expand the availability of affordable, quality oral health care for all seniors, ensuring wide-reaching impact and inclusivity.
Strengthen the workforce: Create a strong, skilled oral health workforce to manage the needs of a growing older adult population.
Advocate for change: Advocate for systems-level change to reduce barriers to oral health access for older adults.
Improve senior lives: Dedicate efforts to reduce oral care disparities, directly enhancing the quality of life for seniors by ensuring equitable care and treatment.

Other senior care partners

The UCLA School of Dentistry MINDFUL Project addresses the public health crisis facing older adults by increasing access to comprehensive oral health care, creating innovative approaches to senior care, and enhancing education and training for providers in care for older adults.
Meals on Wheels San Francisco works on the front lines to support the critical nutritional needs of low-income seniors with health challenges, including poor oral health, facing limited or no access to food.
Utilizing new biomedical technology, Emory University monitors, diagnoses and treats senior adults and expectant mothers who face oral health disparities.
Penn Dental Medicine's PCare Center has emerged as a crucial resource in addressing disparities that older adults face, particularly those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, by implementing a comprehensive initiative focused on improving oral health education and access for both disabled individuals and their caregivers.

Real stories: impact in action

For Mental Health Awareness Month, we conducted a comprehensive survey among seniors.
Learn more about how the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation helps Gary and many other older adults receive the assistance they need.